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In this video clip from Ask Steve, the Southern Strategy is explained. It was the republican party's successful plan of getting the white southern population to shift their views from democratic to republican.

Who is George Wallace and why is he important? Steve Gillon shows the importance and significance of George Wallace in American history. Through his racist views, George Wallace redefined the American Political System.

This John F. Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon 1960 presidential debate History Channel video shows Senator Kennedy speaking about the importance of the Social Security Act of 1935 and now was the time to do something for elderly medical care.

John F. Kennedy answers back to Nixon's accusation of supporting federal control of teacher salaries. Kennedy explains that was not the question before the Senate in February, the issue was whether to give federal aid to the state to support education.

Senator John F. Kennedy talks about the internal threat that communism poses to national security. Kennedy describes that these internal factions are serious and should be taken care of by supporting laws that the U.S. has already passed.

After unsuccessfully seeking the presidential nomination in 1968 and 1976, Ronald Reagan was nominated at the Republican National Convention on September 7, 1980. In his acceptance speech, the former California governor tells American taxpayers that they do not exist to fund the federal government.

After losing his first presidential bid to John F. Kennedy in 1960, former Vice President Richard Nixon brought the Republican Party back into power with a win in the 1968 presidential election. On January 20, 1969, he takes the oath of office and promises to heal a divided nation.

On August 23, 1984, President Ronald Reagan accepts his party's nomination for a second term. In his speech at the Republican National Convention, President Reagan promises a "springtime of hope" for America.

On November 7, 1972, incumbent President Richard Nixon won a second term in a landslide victory over Democrat George McGovern. In a brief statement from the Oval Office, President Nixon promises to bring "peace with honor" in Vietnam and to usher in a "new era of peace" with the Soviet Union.

On September 4, 2008, at the Republican National Convention, Sen. John McCain accepts his party's nomination for presidential candidate. In his speech he promises to change Washington and says he has just the right running mate to shake things up.

Eight months after Alaska became a U.S. state, President Eisenhower signs the official proclamation on August 21, 1959, admitting Hawaii into the Union as the 50th state and delivers a welcoming speech.

On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over central Russia. As a result, the Paris Summit Conference, scheduled 13 days later, collapsed. Upon his return from the failed conference on May 20, President Eisenhower addresses the welcoming crowd at Andrews Air Force Base.

On January 17, 1961, in a national broadcast, Dwight D. Eisenhower speaks to the American people for the last time as president and famously warns about the growing influence of the "military-industrial complex."